Delivery of Unlegended Shares (a) Within three (3) business days (such third business day being the “Unlegended Shares Delivery Date”) after the business day on which the Company has received (i) a representation that the prospectus delivery requirements, or the requirements of Rule 144, as applicable and if required, have been satisfied, and (ii) the original share certificates representing the shares of Common Stock that have been sold, and (iii) in the case of sales under Rule 144, customary representation letters of the Subscriber and/or Subscriber’s broker regarding compliance with the requirements of Rule 144, the Company at its expense, (y) shall deliver, and shall cause legal counsel selected by the Company to deliver to its transfer agent (with copies to Subscriber) an appropriate instruction and opinion of such counsel, directing the delivery of shares of Common Stock without any legends including the legend set forth in Section 4 above, reissuable pursuant to any effective and current Registration Statement described in Section 11 of this Agreement or pursuant to Rule 144 under the 1933 Act (the “Unlegended Shares”); and (z) cause the transmission of the certificates representing the Unlegended Shares together with a legended certificate representing the balance of the submitted Shares certificate, if any, to the Subscriber at the address specified in the notice of sale, via express courier, by electronic transfer or otherwise on or before the Unlegended Shares Delivery Date.
(b) In lieu of delivering physical certificates representing the Unlegended Shares, if the Company’s transfer agent is participating in the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) Fast Automated Securities Transfer program, upon request of a Subscriber, so long as the certificates therefor do not bear a legend and the Subscriber is not obligated to return such certificate for the placement of a legend thereon, the Company must cause its transfer agent to electronically transmit the Unlegended Shares by crediting the account of Subscriber’s prime Broker with DTC through its Deposit Withdrawal Agent Commission system. Such delivery must be made on or before the Unlegended Shares Delivery Date.
(c) The Company understands that a delay in the delivery of the Unlegended Shares pursuant to Section 11 hereof after the Unlegended Shares Delivery Date could result in economic loss to Subscriber. As compensation to Subscriber for such loss, the Company agrees to pay late payment fees (as liquidated damages and not as a penalty) to the Subscriber for late delivery of Unlegended Shares in the amount of $100 per business day after the Delivery Date for each $10,000 of Purchase Price of the Unlegended Shares subject to the delivery default. If during any 360 day period, the Company fails to deliver Unlegended Shares as required by this Section 11.7 for an aggregate of thirty (30) days, then each Subscriber or assignee holding Securities subject to such default may, at its option, require the Company to redeem all or any portion of the Shares subject to such default at a price per share equal to 120% of the Purchase Price of such Shares (“Unlegended Redemption Amount”).
(d) In addition to any other rights available to a Subscriber, if the Company fails to deliver to a Subscriber Unlegended Shares as required pursuant to this Agreement, within seven (7) business days after the Unlegended Shares Delivery Date and the Subscriber or a broker on the Subscriber’s behalf, purchases (in an open market transaction or otherwise) shares of common stock to deliver in satisfaction of a sale by such Subscriber of the shares of Common Stock which the Subscriber was entitled to receive from the Company (a "Buy-In"), then the Company shall pay in cash to the Subscriber (in addition to any remedies available to or elected by the Subscriber) the amount by which (A) the Subscriber's total purchase price (including brokerage commissions, if any) for the shares of common stock so purchased exceeds (B) the aggregate purchase price of the shares of Common Stock delivered to the Company for reissuance as Unlegended Shares together with interest thereon at a rate of 15% per annum, accruing until such amount and any accrued interest thereon is paid in full (which amount shall be paid as liquidated damages and not as a penalty). For example, if a Subscriber purchases shares of Common Stock having a total purchase price of $11,000 to cover a Buy-In with respect to $10,000 of purchase price of shares of Common Stock delivered to the Company for reissuance as Unlegended Shares, the Company shall be required to pay the Subscriber $1,000, plus interest. The Subscriber shall provide the Company written notice indicating the amounts payable to the Subscriber in respect of the Buy-In.
(e) In the event a Subscriber shall request delivery of Unlegended Shares as described in Section 11.7 and the Company is required to deliver such Unlegended Shares pursuant to Section 11.7, the Company may not refuse to deliver Unlegended Shares based on any claim that such Subscriber or any one associated or affiliated with such Subscriber has been engaged in any violation of law, or for any other reason, unless, an injunction or temporary restraining order from a court, on notice, restraining and or enjoining delivery of such Unlegended Shares shall have been sought and obtained by the Company or at the Company’s request or with the Company’s assistance, and the Company has posted a surety bond for the benefit of such Subscriber in the amount of 120% of the amount of the aggregate purchase price of the Common Stock which are subject to the injunction or temporary restraining order, which bond shall remain in effect until the completion of arbitration/litigation of the dispute and the proceeds of which shall be payable to such Subscriber to the extent Subscriber obtains judgment in Subscriber’s favor.
Sale and Delivery of Shares (a) Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Company agrees to issue and sell through the Agent acting as sales agent or directly to the Agent acting as principal from time to time, and the Agent agrees to use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell as sales agent for the Company, the Shares. Sales of the Shares, if any, through the Agent acting as sales agent or directly to the Agent acting as principal, will be made by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions on the NYSE or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices.
(b) The Shares are to be sold on a daily basis or otherwise as shall be agreed to by the Company and the Agent on any trading day (other than a day on which the NYSE is scheduled to close prior to its regular weekday closing time, each, a “Trading Day”) that the Company has satisfied its obligations under Section 6 of this Agreement and that the Company has instructed the Agent to make such sales. On any Trading Day, the Company may instruct the Agent by telephone (confirmed promptly by telecopy or email, which confirmation will be promptly acknowledged by the Agent) as to the maximum number of Shares to be sold by the Agent on such day (in any event not in excess of the number available for issuance under the Prospectus and the currently effective Registration Statement) and the minimum price per Share at which such Shares may be sold. On any Trading Day, the Company shall sell Shares through only one of the Sales Agents, but in no event through both, and the Company shall give prior notice to the Sales Agents by telephone (confirmed promptly by telecopy or email, which confirmation will be promptly acknowledged by the Agent) to notify any change of the Sales Agent through whom the sale of Shares will be effected and the Company shall in no event request that Agent and an Alternative Agent sell Shares on the same day. For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing limitation shall not apply to sales solely to employees, directors or security holders of the Company or its subsidiaries, or to a trustee or other person acquiring such securities for the accounts of such persons in which either of the Sales Agents is acting for the Company in a capacity other than as Agent under the Sales Agreements, any Terms Agreement or any Alternative Terms Agreement. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Agent shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell as sales agent all of the Shares so designated by the Company. The Company and the Agent each acknowledge and agree that (A) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be successful in selling the Shares, (B) the Agent will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Shares for any reason other than a failure by the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable law and regulations to sell such Shares as required by this Agreement, and (C) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Shares on a principal basis except as otherwise specifically agreed by the Agent and the Company pursuant to a Terms Agreement. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Terms Agreement, the terms of such Terms Agreement will control.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not authorize the issuance and sale of, and the Agent as sales agent shall not be obligated to use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell, any Shares (i) at a price lower than the minimum price therefor authorized from time to time, (ii) in a number or with an aggregate gross sales price in excess of the number or gross sales price, as the case may be, of Shares authorized from time to time to be issued and sold under the Sales Agreements, in each case, by the Company’s board of directors, or a duly authorized committee thereof, or (iii) in a number in excess of the number of Shares approved for listing on the NYSE, and in each case notified to the Agent in writing; provided, however, that clause (iii) of this subsection (c) shall not apply until the earlier of (x) the approval for listing of the Shares on the NYSE or (y) three business days after the date hereof. In addition, the Company or the Agent may, upon notice to the other party hereto by telephone (confirmed promptly by telecopy or email, which confirmation will be promptly acknowledged), suspend the offering of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement for any reason and at any time; provided, however, that such suspension or termination shall not affect or impair the parties’ respective obligations with respect to the Shares sold hereunder prior to the giving of such notice.
(d) The gross sales price of any Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement by the Agent acting as sales agent of the Company shall be the market price prevailing at the time of sale for shares of the Company’s Common Stock sold by the Agent on the NYSE or otherwise, at prices relating to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The compensation payable to the Agent for sales of Shares shall be up to 2.0% of the gross sales price of the Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement. The Company may sell Shares to the Agent as principal at a price agreed upon at the relevant Applicable Time and pursuant to a separate Terms Agreement. The remaining proceeds, after further deduction for any transaction fees, transfer taxes or similar taxes or fees imposed by any governmental, regulatory or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales, shall constitute the net proceeds to the Company for such Shares (the “Net Proceeds”). The Agent shall notify the Company as promptly as practicable if any deduction referenced in the preceding sentence will be required with an itemization of such deductions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event the Company engages the Agent for a sale of Shares that would constitute a “distribution,” within the meaning of Rule 100 of Regulation M under the 1934 Act, the Company and the Agent will agree to compensation that is customary for the Agent with respect to such transactions.
(e) The Agent shall provide written confirmation to the Company following the close of trading on the NYSE each day in which Shares are sold under this Agreement setting forth the number of Shares sold on such day, the aggregate gross sales proceeds of the Shares, the aggregate Net Proceeds to the Company and the aggregate compensation payable by the Company to the Agent with respect to such sales.
(f) Under no circumstances shall the aggregate gross sales price or number, as the case may be, of Shares sold pursuant to the Sales Agreements, any Terms Agreement and any Alternative Terms Agreement exceed the aggregate gross sales price or number, as the case may be, of Shares of Common Stock (i) set forth in the preamble paragraph of this Agreement, (ii) available for issuance under the Prospectus and the then currently effective Registration Statement, (iii) authorized from time to time to be issued and sold under the Sales Agreements, any Terms Agreement or any Alternative Terms Agreement by the Company’s board of directors, or a duly authorized committee thereof or (iv) approved for listing on the NYSE; provided, however, that clause (iv) of this subsection (f) shall not apply until the earlier of (x) the approval for listing of the Shares on the NYSE or (y) three business days after the date hereof. In addition, under no circumstances shall any Shares be sold at a price lower than the minimum price therefor authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors, or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Agent in writing.
(g) Other than during a Suspension Period, if either party believes that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the 1934 Act (applicable to securities with an average daily trading volume of $1,000,000 that are issued by an issuer whose common equity securities have a public float value of at least $150,000,000) are not satisfied with respect to the Company or the Shares, it shall promptly notify the other party and sales of Shares under the Sales Agreements, any Terms Agreement and any Alternative Terms Agreement shall be suspended until that or other exemptive provisions have been satisfied in the judgment of each party; provided, that such notice shall be a condition precedent to the commencement of any offering of Shares under this Agreement upon the termination of the Suspension Period, if applicable.
(h) Settlement for sales of Shares pursuant to this Section 2 will occur on the third business day that is also a Trading Day following the trade date on which such sales are made, unless another date shall be agreed to by the Company and the Agent (each such day, a “Settlement Date”). On each Settlement Date, the Shares sold through the Agent for settlement on such date shall be delivered by the Company to the Agent against payment of the Net Proceeds from the sale of such Shares. Settlement for all Shares shall be effected by book-entry delivery of Shares to the Agent’s account at The Depository Trust Company against payments by the Agent of the Net Proceeds from the sale of such Shares in same day funds delivered to an account designated by the Company. If the Company shall default on its obligation to deliver Shares on any Settlement Date, the Company shall (i) indemnify and hold the Agent harmless against any loss, claim or damage arising from or as a result of such default by the Company and (ii) pay the Agent any commission to which it would otherwise be entitled absent such default. If the Agent breaches this Agreement by failing to deliver the applicable Net Proceeds on any Settlement Date for Shares delivered by the Company, the Agent will pay the Company interest based on the effective overnight federal funds rate until such proceeds, together with such interest, have been fully paid.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall not offer, sell or deliver, or request the offer or sale, any Shares and, by notice to the Agent given by telephone (confirmed promptly by telecopy or email), shall cancel any instructions for the offer or sale of any Shares, and the Agent shall not be obligated to offer or sell any Shares, (i) during any period in which the Agent believes the Company is, or could be deemed to be, in possession of material non-public information or (ii) except as provided in Section 2(j) below, at any time from and including the date (each, an “Announcement Date”) on which the Company shall issue a press release containing, or shall otherwise publicly announce, its earnings, revenues or other results of operations (each, an “Earnings Announcement”) through and including the time that is 24 hours after the time that the Company files (a “Filing Time”) a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or an Annual Report on Form 10-K that includes consolidated financial statements as of and for the same period or periods, as the case may be, covered by such Earnings Announcement.
(j) If the Company wishes to offer, sell or deliver Shares at any time during the period from and including an Announcement Date through and including the time that is 24 hours after the corresponding Filing Time, the Company shall (i) prepare and deliver to the Agent (with a copy to counsel to the Agent) a Current Report on Form 8-K which shall include substantially the same financial and related information as was set forth in the relevant Earnings Announcement (other than any earnings projections, similar forward-looking data and officers’ quotations) (each, an “Earnings 8-K”), in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, (ii) provide the Agent with the officers’ certificate, accountants’ letter and opinions and letters of counsel called for by Sections 3(j), (k) and (l) hereof, respectively, subject to further agreement between the Company and the Agent, (iii) afford the Agent the opportunity to conduct a due diligence review in accordance with Section 3(o) hereof and (iv) file such Earnings 8-K with the Commission, then the provisions of clause (iii) of Section 2(i) shall not be applicable for the period from and after the time at which the foregoing conditions shall have been satisfied (or, if later, the time that is 24 hours after the time that the relevant Earnings Announcement was first publicly released) through and including the time that is 24 hours after the Filing Time of the relevant Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as the case may be. For purposes of clarity, the parties hereto agree that (A) the delivery of any officers’ certificate, accountants’ letter and opinions and letters of counsel pursuant to this Section 2(j) shall not relieve the Company from any of its obligations under this Agreement with respect to any Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as the case may be, including, without limitation, the obligation to deliver officers’ certificates, accountants’ letters and legal opinions and letters as provided in Section 3 hereof and (B) this Section 2(j) shall in no way affect or limit the operation of the provisions of clauses (i) and (ii) of Section 2(i), which shall have independent application.
